Catcher&#39;s mitt



July 21, 1964 J. A. JACKSON ETAL 3, 4 73 CATCHER S MITT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 4, 1963 INVENTORS JAMES A. JACKSON WALTER L-. JACKSON 161.01: & jaw-x Jilly 1954 J. A. JACKSON ETAL 3,141,173

CATCHER'S MITT Filed March 4, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS JAMES A. JACKSON WALTER L. JACKSON Mam United States Patent 3,141,173 CATCHERS MITT James A. Jackson, 1151 Washington Heights Place, and

Walter L. Jackson, 1069 Washington Heights Place,

both of El Cajon, Calif., assignors of thirteen percent to Donald F. Oderkirk, El Cajon, Calif.

Filed Mar. 4, 1963, Ser. No. 262,476 6 Claims. (Cl. 219) The present invention relates generally to a catchers mitt and more particularly to a catchers mitt having ball retaining means incorporated therein.

The primary object of this invention is to provide in a catchers mitt novel and effective means for insuring retention of a ball therein.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved catchers mitt which may be effectively used by the novice as well as the experienced ball player.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an improved catchers mitt which may be used with a considerable variety of types of balls, the principal requirement being that the ball should be smooth surfaced.

A still further and important object of this invention is to provide an improved catchers mitt having a plurality of ball retaining members therein which may be individually and cheaply replaced as they become damaged through extended use.

Finally it is an object to provide a catchers mitt of the aforementioned character which is simple and convenient to use and which will give generally efiicient and durable service.

With these and other objects definitely in view, this invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of elements and portions, as will be hereinafter fully described in the specification, particularly pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the drawings which form a material part of this disclosure, and which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation view of the mitt;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation view as taken from the left end of FIGURE 1, and indicating the method of holding the mitt;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a rear elevation view of the mitt; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view illustrating edge lacing applied to the mitt.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings the reference number indicates generally the improved catchers mitt. This consists of a generally dish-shaped receptacle 12 which may be throught of as including a concave lateral lobe 13 or ear-shaped extension of the receptacle behind which the thumb rests when the receptacle 12 is hand-held as indicated in FIGURE 2. The receptacle may be formed of any size and shape desired. It should be understood that it is within the scope of this disclosure to make a range of sizes within the limits of the hand sizes of expected users of the mitt.

Receptacle 12 may be formed of any suitable material but we have found that any of the well known synthetic plastics in sheet form provide the necessary rigidity together with light weight. The inner or concave surface of the receptacle, which constitutes the ball catching and holding portion, has mounted therein a plurality of conventional suction cup members 14. The suction cups 14 are generously distributed over said concave surface, including the lateral lobe 13 and those suction cups on the lobe 13 are of significant importance in making the item functional. As shown the cup portion 16 of each suction cup member 14 is connected, by means of a narrow neck 18 to a support portion 20. The periphery of support portion 20 is provided with a groove 22 which retainingly engages a hole in the receptacle 12. Suction cup mem- 3,141,173 Patented July 21, 1964 bers 14 are formed of any suitable resilient form retaining material such as rubber. It will be evident therefore that groove 22 will permit members 14 to be snapped into holes in the receptacle to be retainingly engaged thereby. It will also be evident that this construction facilitates removal and replacement of a damaged suction cup member. Although only one means of securing the suction cup members to the receptacle is shown it is understood that any other suitable means for removably securing suction cup members to a backing may be substituted therefor.

Suitable means is provided to position and secure our catchers mitt to a persons hand. In the preferred form illustrated we mount a strap 24 on the back of receptacle 12. Three pairs of spaced slits 26, 28 and 30 are located adjacent one side 29 and the material of the strap is threaded therethrough as shown to provide two loop portions 32 and 34. The intermediate portion of strap 24 is slidable in slits 28 while the ends are suitably secured to member 12 at 36 and 38, respectively. It will be readily apparent that the loops 32 and 34 are of such size as to each receive two fingers, the thumb being positioned outside the loops as clearly shown in FIGURE 2.

Operation The operation of our improved catchers mitt will be apparent from the foregoing description. It is primarily intended for use with a smooth surfaced ball since it is well known that suction cups will cooperate more effectively with a smooth regular surface than with a surface that has sharp ridges or irrigularities thereon. Since suction cups 14 are positioned to cover the complete concave surface of dish-shaped receptacle 12 a ball of suitable size striking the receptacle at any point on this concave surface will come in contact with one or more of these suction cups. This impact will deflect the suction cup or cups sufficiently to conform to the shape of the ball at the same time expelling the air therefrom and cause a gripping action with the ball in the well known manner of suction cup operation.

FIGURE 5 shows a fragmentary section of our improved catchers mitt with stitching 40 applied to the edge thereof. The stitching may be of any suitable material such as plastic or leather strips and serves to reinforce as well as decorate our mitt.

It is understood that minor variation from the form of the invention disclosed herein may be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that the specification and drawings are to be considered as merely illustrative rather than limiting.

We claim:

1. A hand-held catchers mitt comprising:

a substantially rigid dish-shaped receptacle for receiving a ball; and

a plurality of suction cups mounted on the concave surface thereof adapted to receive and hold a smooth surfaced ball.

2. A hand-held catchers mitt as claimed in claim 1 in which said receptacle consists entirely of a thin layer of plastic material.

3. A hand-held catchers mitt as claimed in claim 2 in which said suction cups extend over substantially the entire concave surface.

4. A hand-held catchers mitt as claimed in claim 3 in which said suction cups are removably mounted on said concave surface.

5. A hand-held catchers mitt as claimed in claim 4 further including means mounted on the receptacle for receiving the hand of the user of the device.

6. A hand-held catchers mitt comprising:

a substantially rigid dish-shaped receptacle consisting entirely of thin sheet plastic for receiving a ball and 3 having a plurality of apertures extending entirely therethrough; and a plurality of suction cups adapted to receive and hold a smooth surfaced ball, each cup having a support portion received in one of said apertures. 5

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 4 Latina Nov. 17, 1925 Barden 'Mar. 17,1931 Wood Nov. 1, 1932 Schmidt July 28, 1936 Price Aug. 1, 1939 Stiller Apr. 5, 1949 Causse Mar. 1, 1955 MacChesney Nov. 20,1956

FOREIGN PATENTS Canada May 7, 1957 

1. A HAND-HELD CATCHER''S MITT COMPRISING: A SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID DISH-SHAPED RECEPTACLE FOR RECEIVING A BALL; AND A PLURALITY OF SUCTION CUPS MOUNTED ON THE CONCAVE SURFACE THEREOF ADAPTED TO RECEIVE AND HOLD A SMOOTH SURFACED BALL. 